Agglomeration State of Titanium-Dioxide (TiO2) Nanomaterials Influences the Dose Deposition and Cytotoxic Responses in Human Bronchial Epithelial Cells at the Air-Liquid Interface

Nanomaterials

Sonja Mülhopt¹  Hanns-Rudolf Paur¹  Dieter Stapf¹  Carsten Weiss²  Silvia Diabaté²  Manosij Ghosh³  Sivakumar Murugadoss³  Peter H. Hoet³ 

[1] Institute for Technical Chemistry, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, 76021 Karlsruhe, Germany;Institute of Biological and Chemical Systems—Biological Information Processing, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, 76021 Karlsruhe, Germany;Laboratory of Toxicology, Unit of Environment and Health, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium;

关键词: nanomaterials;    titanium dioxide;    agglomerates;    air-liquid interface;    pulmonary toxicity;   

DOI  :  10.3390/nano11123226

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Extensive production and use of nanomaterials (NMs), such as titanium dioxide (TiO₂), raises concern regarding their potential adverse effects to humans. While considerable efforts have been made to assess the safety of TiO₂ NMs using in vitro and in vivo studies, results obtained to date are unreliable, possibly due to the dynamic agglomeration behavior of TiO₂ NMs. Moreover, agglomerates are of prime importance in occupational exposure scenarios, but their toxicological relevance remains poorly understood. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the potential pulmonary effects induced by TiO₂ agglomerates of different sizes at the air–liquid interface (ALI), which is more realistic in terms of inhalation exposure, and compare it to results previously obtained under submerged conditions. A nano-TiO₂ (17 nm) and a non-nano TiO₂ (117 nm) was selected for this study. Stable stock dispersions of small agglomerates and their respective larger counterparts of each TiO₂ particles were prepared, and human bronchial epithelial (HBE) cells were exposed to different doses of aerosolized TiO₂ agglomerates at the ALI. At the end of 4h exposure, cytotoxicity, glutathione depletion, and DNA damage were evaluated. Our results indicate that dose deposition and the toxic potential in HBE cells are influenced by agglomeration and exposure via the ALI induces different cellular responses than in submerged systems. We conclude that the agglomeration state is crucial in the assessment of pulmonary effects of NMs.

【 授权许可】

Unknown